Increase The Value Of Your Property Through Landscaping

Landscaping can add significant value of your property.

In fact, it is one of the few home improvements you can make that not only adds value immediately, but also increases in value as the years go by, as plants grow fuller and more robust as the years go by.

A recent study published by researchers at Virginia Tech found that a well-landscaped home had a significant price advantage over a home with no landscaping. That advantage ranged from 5.5 percent to 12.7 percent. That difference translates into an extra $16,500 to $38,100 in value on a $300,000 home.

The research makes clear that there's more to landscaping than sticking some flowers and a couple shrubs in the ground. The number-one thing that buyers are looking for in landscaping is a sophisticated design. Close behind is plant size and maturity. A lesser factor, but one still worth considering, is the diversity of plant life within the landscaping design.

The biggest landscaping mistake that homeowners make is not having a coherent plan. They decide to put a tree in, and then a few years later add some flower beds, then maybe put in some shrubs and another tree. A landscape that's assembled piecemeal looks disorganized, and that turns buyers off. Come up with a plan before you do any landscaping.